Josh Rosenau guest-writing for Scientific American has more thoughts on the Miss USA pageant and the evolution question. He has a different take than mine. He writes:
Miss USA certainly doesn't set education policy, but the state pageant winners – especially the one wearing the Miss USA crown – have broad reach into households that may not read Scientific American, but who do vote for school boards and press their children's teachers on the coverage of evolution. Knowing how these role models think about evolution is important not just because these women have a bully pulpit, but because they are chosen to represent their states, and it is rare that we can see a national cross-section of how the non-scientist public views evolution (even as self-selected heavily vetted a cross-section as this group of pageant-winners). Indeed, understanding how Miss USA contestants talk about evolution can help us better understand how politicians talk about evolution, and how we can better promote science education.
In retrospect, he is probably right in some ways about the pageant giving us a cross-section of views on evolution. It certainly reinforced how badly evolution education really is in this country, a point also noted by Dr. Rosenau.He also writes:
Like the Miss USA contestants, most politicians (excluding those on local school boards or state boards of education) will have little opportunity to influence how evolution is taught. In answering questions about evolution during campaigns, their goal is rarely to indicate a clear conception of how science works and why evolution is central to modern biology. Instead, they must alienate as few constituents as possible, keep their base happy, and avoid an embarrassing misstep that could draw harmful national mockery.
I am not so sure this is true. It may be true on the democrat side but, increasingly, it is not true on the Republican side, as the recent examples of Michelle Bachmann's endorsement of Intelligent Design and the spate of “academic freedom” bills that have been pushed by politicians in Louisiana, Indiana, New Mexico, and Tennessee to name just a few. In all, there are eleven states that currently or have recently had academic freedom legislation promoted. Louisiana drew nationalwide condemnation from science organizations for its LSEA last year and it didn't phase them. A recent attempt to have the bill repealed failed by a 5-to-1 margin. I think these politicians are trying to keep their constituents happy. The problem is that many of their constituents are young earth creationists. The problem is not that they don't have much influence. The problem is that they have too much.
Digital Journal has an article about the struggle involved in teaching evolution in Dayton, Ohio. The story and accompanying video are quite alarming and show not just a complete misunderstanding of what evolution actually is but a fear associated with it.
The usual “acceptance of both God and evolution” argument is turned on its head by the teacher who argues that he doesn't “think that God has to have evolution to make a world.” Because of his extreme dislike for evolution, his biblical world view puts God in a box by denying Him the option of using evolution. In other words, evolution is so bad that God simply could not have possibly done it that way. As the writer of the article points out:
However, beyond the church and state controversy, the teaching of Creationism may have a grave impact on America's long-term competitiveness in science. According to a recent Huffington Post report, the World Economic Forum slapped the United States with a ranking of 48th among measured countries in the quality of mathematics and science education provided to students. But the video segment ends with a big bang of its own: “How can, like, an African American person evolve from a white person,” one student asked. “We're different skin.”
Even basic human variation involving melanin, latitude, sunshine and Vitamin K is a complete mystery to these students. That is astounding and sad and it makes one wonder about the competence of the teacher even in areas that don't involve evolution.
Interestingly, the narrator of the video does not come without some internal preconceptions as well. Remarking about the teaching style and beliefs of the teacher as it relates to his class, she states:
Unable to deny the word of God to his students or himself, Joe Wilke [sp?] walks a thin line between religion and science.
Why would he need to deny the word of God to teach evolution to his students? This is an a priori assumption that is a mirror image of the constraint in which Mr. Wilke places himself. Mr. Wilke is unable to deny a particular interpretation of the word of God, not the word of God, itself. This nuance is lost on the narrator.
It is this kind of biological education that leads to students coming out of high school thinking that evolution is religion, suggesting that the answers given by the Miss USA contestants might not be that unusual.
Youtube has a video of the Miss America 2011 contestants in which they are asked whether or not evolution should be taught in public school. The results?
Some things that stood out in the answers:
Most contestants think that “all sides” should be taught, although I don't remember a single contestant using the phrase “intelligent design” in their answer.
Only three contestants that I heard seemed to understand the concept of “theory” or that evolution was rooted in science. Miss New Mexico stated that evolution was “based on science,” Miss South Dakota remarked that it was part of basic science and Miss California stated that it should be taught and that she was a science geek. Miss California is also the only contestant to mention human evolution, and did so in a positive way.
Almost all contestants equated evolution with a belief system and that all sides should be taught so people could decide “what to believe in.”
Only one contestant, Miss Alabama, came out against teaching evolution completely, stating that she didn't believe in it.
Miss Arkansas stated that she was never taught evolution.
Did the question make the slightest difference in the outcome? I doubt it, but it is something we will probably never know. What is clear is that public school science has a long, long way to go before it can turn out science-literate future Miss America contestants.
There is an article over on Fox News about the Miss USA Contest and the fact that contest organizers are considering broadening the range of questions that are asked of the contestants. You will remember that Carrie Prejean, Miss California, was asked whether or not she approved of gay marriage. She said she didn't and the backlash (mostly from pretentious people like Perez Hilton) likely cost her the crown.
Well, now they are considering adding questions about whether or not evolution should be taught in class or whether it is okay to pose nude for pictures. There is, likely, a moral question involved in the second issue. But asking contestants in a beauty contest whether or not evolution should be taught in school is absurd. If they were asking the question of Miss School Board USA or Miss Educator USA, it might be different, but most of these ladies will go into the work world in jobs for which the answer to such a question, whatever it might be, is irrelevant.
Holly McKay writes:
According to Paula Shugart, President of the Miss Universe Organization (MUO), which also operates Miss USA, these “topics are very relevant and in the news.”
Relevant to who? One is tempted to suspect that the contest organizers know good and well that such a question has no bearing on your average contestant but also that the answer will very likely identify and, potentially, isolate conservative contestants like the gay marriage question did for Ms. Prejean. You might also recall that, after she stated that marriage is between a man and a woman, Mr. Hilton, a contest judge, called her “a dumb bitch.” Nice.
So, as for the question about evolution: Relevant? absolutely not. Political? Absolutely. ---------------- Now playing: George Winston - Tamarack Pines via FoxyTunes
